Daily Mass Reading Reflection (Nov 16, 2024)
Everything in the readings this last Sunday before Christmas speaks to that something before. In the first reading (Micah 5:1-4) it says that the “origin” of this long-awaited ruler is “of old.” This is not even to say that this has long been considered a significant prophecy about the Messiah. There has always been within us the inclination to see old things as having a heightened credibility. While this can always be abused, this makes sense when we consider the importance of wisdom and staying power with things that can last. We are made for eternity, so old things, including old origins for our prophecies, help us feel closer to it.
The Psalm (80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19) also speaks to the importance of the ancient, in this case heavenly, aspect of the “shepherd of Israel.” This shepherd has a “throne…upon the cherubim” and will “look down from heaven” upon us. These lines give more weight to Jesus’s claim later in the Gospels to be the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) as something far more than sentimental. It will not be long before those who sang this song in the Temple will be able to “see [God’s] face and…be saved.”
The letter to the Hebrews is all about the “before” of Jesus’s time on earth. Here (Hebrews 10:5-10), the author shows how Jesus’s body was prepared as a sacrifice. The sacrifice he made with his body, not only on the Cross but throughout the duration of his life, was a reflection of the libation of himself he has been making to the Father from eternity. However, it is in this body that we are able to participate in that same sacrifice.
Finally, we get one of the most famous “befores” in history with the recognition of Jesus by St. John the Baptizer in the womb of St. Elizabeth. In the famous Visitation, the Holy Spirit shows us the importance of before by giving this special knowledge of the Messiah to a pre-born child. This is before Jesus validates his claims at the Resurrection, before he reveals himself at his trial, before St. Peter’s confession in Matthew 16, before his first miracle at Cana (John 2), before his baptism, before even his teaching in the Temple, before his recognition by St. Simeon and Anna, before even his physical face can be seen, before even St. John the Baptizer himself could see what everyone born could see. God sees a lot of value in before.